What was the Supreme Court's ruling in West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette?

The Supreme Court's ruling in West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette was that public schools could not compel students to salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance

Explanation:

The conflict originated when the children of a family of a Jehovah's Witnesses refused to salute the flag, as the West Virginia Board of Education had ordered teachers and students of public schools to do. After the event, the children were punished and sent home for non-compliance.

In Court, the Supreme Court declared that the Act was unconstitutional and that public schools could not compel students to salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance because it was a form of "compulsory unification of opinion" that violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment which protected citizens from being compelled to say certain speech (the flag salute was seen as a form of utterance).

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment protects students from being forced to salute the American flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance in public school.